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Residents of the Cully neighborhood didn’t have to go far to comment on the Cully Main Street and Local Street Plans project on May 22. The Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) held their bimonthly meeting in the heart of the Cully neighborhood at Rigler School and will hear public testimony on a draft plan for the community.

Over the past year, BPS and the Bureau of Transportation have been working with Cully residents, property owners, bike and pedestrian advocates, and the business community, among others, to collect and analyze data, and hear public opinion on the Cully Main Street and Local Street Plans project. Project staff subsequently developed a Proposed Cully Main Street and Local Street Plans Implementation Report to respond to the community’s desire for a neighborhood-serving main street and an improved street system.

The recommendations in the implementation report include select zoning changes along Cully Boulevard and Killingworth Street area to allow more commercial, residential, mixed-use and employment in the area. The report also includes a local street plan for the Cully neighborhood to increase street connectivity, develop new designs and funding options for implementing local street improvements, as well as prioritizing Cully community street improvements.

The PSC reviewed the proposed draft and invited public comment. Testimony generally supported main street proposals. However, questions were raised about how the local diverse population could benefit from the plan, specifically through local job development. Testifiers also commented on the local street plan design options and street improvement priorities.

Subsequently, the PSC unanimously voted to endorse the plan and asked that staff revise the report to include more discussion about the impact of potential gentrification and displacement. The report will then be forwarded to City Council for final action at a public hearing in summer 2012. Stay tuned to www.portlandoregon.gov/bps/cully for exact dates and times or for more information about the project.###